Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is not an ordinary novel. It requires an active imagination and an open mind. Jonathan Foer uses historical events and tragedies in such a way that could actually make people rethink history altogether. He incorporates the bombing of Dresden, Germany, during World War II, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and the planes crashing into the Twin Towers on 9/11 into the lives of one family.

Foer humanizes the characters in such a way that makes the reader go through a variety of emotions. Each chapter brings a new identity to a character. The main character is a nine-year-old boy named Oskar Schell. Oskar is very unique boy. Although he has the quirks of a normal child, he is exceptionally different from his classmates and friends. He loves science, foreign languages, wears only white clothes, and expresses himself in a scrapbook he calls Stuff that Happened to Me. Oskar’s father, Thomas, is killed in the events of 9/11 and his family is deeply affected by his death. No one knows exactly how Thomas died which becomes a great mystery to Oskar and he “invents” possible scenarios in which he was killed. Oskar and his family must adjust to life without Thomas and this story accurately depicts the turmoil that a family could go through in such a hardship.

Oskar’s father was the center of his existence. His father would tell him stories, design Reconnaissance Expeditions so Oskar would have to talk to people, find mistakes in the New York Times together, and generally enjoy life together. After his father died, Oskar was a lost little boy who did not know what to do with his feelings. He resented his mother, loved his grandmother, but especially longed for his father. Oskar did not know how to cope with his emotions, so he would bruise himself when things were difficult for him. He wanted to scream, but said nothing, except on certain occasions when he would take his anger out on his mother. Oskar annoyed many, but captured the hearts of even more, especially his grandmother.

In a desperate attempt to hold onto his father, Oskar searches his parent’s room. He finds a tuxedo that his father wore, but never put away. He notices a blue vase on a high shelf, and is determined to know what is in the vase. Oskar attempts to retrieve the vase, but instead knocks it off of the shelf and the vase shatters on the floor. Oskar discovers an envelope within the glass with the word “black” written in red ink. Inside of the envelope, Oskar finds a key but there is no indication as to what the key is for. This moment gives Oskar hope. Hope to stay close to his father, and a determination to find out why his father had the key.

Oskar discovers that the word “black” is the name of an individual. He sets out to find the person that will unveil the truth about the key and if and how his father is involved. Oskar decides to find every person with the last name of Black in the city of New York. Not only do we learn about the complex character of Oskar, but we learn about the kind nature of the people that he encounters. Each person has their own unique story to add and Oskar is excited to know everything he can about each person.

Oskar’s unique personality is unveiled when he plays an audio recording of an interview with a survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima. The interview is detailed and gruesome and Oskar elaborates on the relationship of the degree of burning with colors. His classmates do not understand his unusual character and Oskar does not know that his grandparents survived a similar experience.

Throughout the story we learn the complexity of Oskar’s family as well. His grandparents grew up in Dresden, Germany, during World War II. Oskar’s grandfather, Thomas Sr. was in love with a young woman named Anna. Anna was the love of his life and they became young lovers. On the last day that Thomas saw Anna, she told him she was pregnant. Dresden was bombed and many lives were lost, including Anna and her unborn child. The other character who suffered from the death of Anna, was her sister who was Oskar’s grandma. Oskar’s grandma’s biggest regret in her life was that she did not tell Anna that she loved her the last time that she saw her. She expressed to her grandson that he should always make sure that the people he loved knew that he loved them.

Oskar’s grandparents moved to New York City and found each other. Thomas did not speak, so he wrote his messages to people, including Grandma, in a notebook. He also tattooed yes on his left hand and no on his right hand so he could answer some questions without having to write them down. Thomas’s relationship with Grandma was based on rules and nothings and somethings. They co-existed, but never really expressed too much emotion toward one another. The number one rule between them is that there can be no children. Grandma becomes pregnant and Grandpa leaves her and his unborn child. She is left alone to take care of the child that she loves more than anything and the child that Grandpa wants to love more than anything. Instead of staying and showing his love to his child, Grandpa wrote a letter everyday for his child.

The grandparent’s story is well described and unexpected. I found myself running through mixed emotions as their back story unfolded. At first glance, Grandpa was selfish and uncaring towards anyone except Anna. He did not talk, and the reason for that was questioned. I can say that I did not expect the reason to be as profound as it turned out to be. Although I do not agree with any one walking out on his or her family, I could understand Grandpa’s need to protect himself. He longed for a woman and a child that he could no longer have, and that would impact anyone negatively. I originally found myself feeling empathy for Grandma and wanting her to find happiness and have a fulfilling life without her husband. Her inability to move on with her life without her husband left me angry and unsympathetic towards her. Her desperation and willingness to take her husband back after so much time had passed caused me to label her as weak. She had little regard for her own personal pride and self respect.

Oskar’s resentment for his mother runs deep in this novel. On the day of his father’s death, she does not pick him up for school. She has him meet her at their apartment. When Oskar gets home, he finds that his father has left several messages on the answering machine. Not wanting his mother to find the messages, he purchases an identical phone and replaces it. He hides the phone with the messages in a scarf which is placed in a bag, which is then placed in a box, which is placed in another box, and then hidden in the bottom of his closet with several items placed on top of the box. Oskar thinks that he hides this from his mom and grandma as he wants to protect them, but he is actually upset with his mother for not hearing the messages first. He is mad that he had to go home by himself to discover the messages by himself.

Oskar’s anger for his mother is completely plausible. He is mad because she does not show what he thinks are valid feelings for his father’s death. She tells him that he reminds her of his father, but Oskar is mad that he does not remind her of himself. Oskar’s mother has a friend, Ron, who Oskar is unhappy with. He is convinced that his mother and Ron are boyfriend and girlfriend, which to him means that she has forgotten about his father. The relationship between Oskar and his mother is extremely unsteady. Oskar is required to attend therapy sessions. At one of the sessions he overhears the therapist telling his mother that he needs to be institutionalized. Oskar’s mother refuses, which gives Oskar a little comfort knowing that his mother defended him and does not think he is completely crazy.

The journey to find the lock uncovers secrets and unusual characters. Oskar meets Mr. Black who lives in the same apartment building as he and his mother does. Mr. Black was born on January 1, 1900. He is unusual that he wears an eye patch and does not leave his apartment. Oskar snoops through his apartment to find that his bed is made of a tree. Oskar tells Mr. Black his story and convinces him to help him track locate the Blacks’ in New York City. Mr. Black and Oskar make an uncanny pair, but both enjoy the time that they spend together.

Mr. Black and Oskar provided each other with companionship. Oskar gives Mr. Black a reason for living and Mr. Black gives Oskar security as well as adult supervision. Oskar and Mr. Black meet Ruth Black on the top of the Empire State Building. She gives them a history lesson of the building and Mr. Black is especially intrigued. Although she is not the Black that they are looking for, Mr. Black finds something about her fascinating and intriguing. Although their journeys together were exciting, Mr. Black does not finish the quest with Oskar. He tells Oskar that he is finished, and Mr. Black quietly vanishes to leave Oskar on his own.

One of the first Blacks’ that Oskar met was Abby Black. Oskar was intrigued by her and really enjoyed her company. Although he felt that she knew more than she was letting on, he moved on to locate the next Black on his list. After several months of searching, he discovers a message on the answering machine from Abby Black. She called and left a message to let Oskar know that she knew more than she told him. When she was leaving the message, Oskar’s mother had picked up the phone and talked to her. She never told Oskar of the conversation and let him believe that she had no idea of what was going on.

Abby Black’s ex-husband, William was the one who ended Oskar’s adventure. After his father had died, he sold everything. His father had left a key for a safety deposit box inside an envelope which was then placed in a blue vase. The blue vase was purchased by Thomas Schell. Thomas had known about the key but was killed before he was able to return the vase to William. Although the mystery was solved, Oskar did not have the answers that he was looking for. As long as he was searching for answers, he felt that he was close to his father. Now he was forced to grieve and focus on his father not being there for him.

Oskar’s grandpa learns of his son’s death and contacts Grandma. She allows him to stay in her guest room under the condition that he never meets Oskar. Grandma tells Oskar and his mother that the man staying in her guest room is the “renter.” Desperate to find his Grandma one day, he meets the “renter.” Oskar tells this man his whole story. He finds comfort in telling someone everything he has been doing, the people he has been meeting, and the end of his journey. After spending time with the man he does not know is really his grandpa, Oskar decides to dig up his father’s coffin, with the help of his grandpa.

Oskar and Grandpa secretly create a plan to dig up Thomas Schell, Jr.’s coffin. They end up at the cemetery in the middle of the night and dig up an empty coffin. Although Oskar knew there would be nothing inside, he was still disappointed. Grandpa finds all the letters that he has ever written to his son, dumps them in the coffin, and the two bury the letters.

The ending of the novel left too many questions. Sometimes I feel that the unknown makes an acceptable ending, this is not one of those times. Oskar does not find any closure. He learns things about his mother that were necessary for him to overcome some of his anger, but I feel cheated. Grandma and Grandpa move to the airport and then what? I wish that the end could have answered more questions for me.

Foer uses the familiarity of grief and loss to capture his audience. The use of catastrophic events, makes the actions of the characters believable and human. Although we sympathize with Oskar, we also see how different he is and how his behavior can be typical of a child his age. The mother’s actions, although frustrating and angering at times, are not too difficult to relate to.

Foer also uses visual examples and pictures to illustrate what the characters are seeing. I sometimes find this distracting and refreshing at the same time. I really enjoyed the words in color. They illustrated exactly what the reader needed to see to believe. The pages where all the words were smashed together, made me feel as though I was missing some valuable information, but maybe that was exactly the point after all.

This is certain a novel that I would have never considered reading on my own, but now that I have, I really think that I need to read it again to understand the complete picture that Foer wanted his audience to see. There are parts that I am still confused by, but understand that the point of this novel is to create a unique and refreshing way to tell a story.

Extremely Loud and Undeniably Incredible

Extremely loud and Incredibly close shares the separate accounts of a distraught mother, a callous grandpa, a deprived grandma and a precocious 9-year old boy but when there lives interweave there separate accounts transform into a unified and touching story.
The novel begins post 9/11, a day that claimed thousands of lives and changed the perception in American Eyes forever. Thomas Schell, a father, son and husband, breathed his last breath in the World Trade Center, and was never found again . His son, Oskar Schell, is the tambourine playing narrator that takes us on an adventure through the Burroughs of New York City, his narratives are mixed with the letters written from Oskar’s grandpa to his son (Thomas Schell), and Oskar’s grandma to Oskar and with pictures from Oskar‘s Journal which parallels his adventures and feelings.
Oskar Schell is an oddly intelligent nine year old boy who has many problems stemming from his fathers death and guilt he has for not being able to pick up the phone on 9/11. Oskar’s dad left five messages from inside the north tower of the World Trade Center before it came crumbling down, and his discovery of the messages prompts him to hide the messages from his mother to protect her. Which he refers to giving him “heavy boots”. Oskar’s sadness and inability to properly cope with loss is demonstrated in his lovable characteristics and rapid imagination, he is an French speaker, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler and inventor; “What about a birdseed shirt to let you fly away?.”
Oskar lives with his mom but spends most of the time with his grandmother who lives across the street. Oskar’s relationship with his mom is turbulent and Oskar feels Ron, her new friend is to blame. Oskar dislikes Ron from the beginning because he does not think his mom should be laughing, talking to other men, playing games but most of all getting over his dad so soon. Oskar’s grandma plays an upfront role in Oskar’s life while dealing secretly with the loss of her son, her husband and their detrimental relationship, the horrific memories of the Dresden bombings and the damage it did to her family.
The grandma opens up and sheds light on her past through the letters she writes to Oskar.
Oskar’s sole mission is to find the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in a blue vase in the closet belonging to his late father. When he finds the key inside a envelope labeled ‘Black’ he searches the city for every person with the last name ‘Black’. Oskar anticipates who ever they are will be able to share information about his father, in hopes of understanding his father better and find closure. Oskar starts a search for the meaning of the key by visiting a locksmith and then sets out visiting one ‘Black’ to another ‘Black’ from Central Park to Harlem in search of someone who knows about the key. Oskar's mother allows the boy to spend his time searching, and does so by traveling on foot, in subways and cabs to the reach the five boroughs of New York City. Oskar makes friendships with many diverse people in his quest to find the key, including a Mr. Black who lives above Oskar and never leaves his apartment and a woman who lives in the Empire State Building.
In addition to Oskar sharing his accounts on the search for the key and insight into his life, we also receive accounts and learn about the lives of his grandma and grandpa through the letters they write. His grandpa, also Thomas Schell, writes to his son because he left and returned to Germany, never knowing him. The letters shine light on his traumatic teenage past in Dresden during World War II and why he makes the decisions he does. During the bombings he lost the love of his life, Anna, their unborn child, his family, and the gift of a voice. The grandpa communicates by his tattoos on his hands “Yes” and “No” and the messages he has written in his journal. He can answer questions by showing the correlating hand or pointing to sentences over and over. The grandpa spends his life and the entirety of the book defending why he is the way he is.and striving to explain himself . The Grandma writes letters to Oskar that entail intimate details about her and his grandpas masochistic relationship. Oskar’s grandma was Anna’s sister, which is how she knew when she ran into him that they had to marry, Thomas Schell was the only thing she had that reminded her of her past. Consequently, she knew that he only agreed because she reminded him of Anna, a substitution for Anna. Their life together was lived with rules they created, which presided over how they can act, what they can do, and where they could go in the apartment they shared. The rules were the way to survive their losses and prevent pain, thus when the number one rule was broke, no children, Thomas Schell walked out on her and their unborn child..
The letters contribute to the theme of tragedy, and the hunt for happiness Oskar is on. Oskar can be annoying, difficult, and emotionally unstable, but it is these quarks that completely captivate the reader. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close can bring one to tears or lift one up, but most importantly it keeps 9/11 engraved into the minds of everyone, which as time passes the memory begins to fade.

Review: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer takes an intimate look at grief and the way in which people handle an array of emotions including but not limited too: pain, fear, loneliness, and of course grief. In order to do this Foer used the most recent disaster that Americans can identify with, the 9/11 attacks on the world trade centers. The entire country is still attempting to heal both as a country and on an individual level. This book takes a look at the individual level and the effect that the attacks had on people for years to come by looking at one family.

The book revolves around the character of Oskar a young boy whose father died in the 9/11 attacks. It follows Oskar as he attempts to reconnect with his father and deal with his grief and hysteria about the incident and the entire world. Oskar finds himself afraid of many things such as “scaffolding, sewers and subway grates, bags without owners, shoes, people with mustaches, smoke, knots…”. Oskar’s inability to move on from his father’s death leaves him constantly fearful of the world around him and ultimately leads him to search all over the five boroughs of New York for a lock in an attempt to reconnect with his father.

The character of Oskar is highly entertaining but unbelievable at times. While the reader is led to believe that Oskar is simply an extremely advanced young boy, his character seems pushed beyond this at times creating mistrust in the reader. The constant questioning seems to fit with what would be expected of any young child but the complexity of the thought process behind these questions seems at times to go overboard. In doing this Foer looses the audience to questions of how realistic the character of Oskar is. Even though Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is fiction the reader is able to fall into the story to the extent of believing it to be reality until Foer has one of his character usually Oskar do something too unbelievable breaking this belief. Also at times the language used by Oskar is actually the problem with his character, especially when held up to the language of other children his age. Oskar gives a presentation to his class in which he discusses a disaster. Oskar describes the incident with individual words and combinations of words that seem unlikely to be in most children’s vocabulary. Having Oskar nonchalantly state that “the radiant heat traveled in straight lines from the explosion” and use words such as: “hypocenter” and “intervening objects”, “indication”, and “diameter” as well as “maximum charring effect” looses the audience. Especially when followed by the question of Jimmy Snyder “Why are you so weird”. Foer’s attempt to show the depth and complexity of Oskar fell short due to the unrealistic nature of his character and caused the audience to questi
on the reliability of the narrator. Many people have suggested that Foer wrote himself into the character of Oskar and are unappreciative of this fact.

Foer uses a variety of visual aids in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close to draw the reader into the book. While some of these pictures and blank pages do draw the reader in there are times when the reader finds themselves distanced from the story due to their now inability to create their own images in their mind. They must rely on the images supplied by Foer.

Oskar’s grandparents also seem to turn readers away. They are so over the top and at times much too forth coming with their sexual experiences. Even though Foer used the grandparent’s sexual experience as a way to show their past and demonstrate how they became the people that they are today, some readers will find it too over the top. The grandparents do effectively serve as an example of people who were able to get some sort of a second chance and who were able to find a small amount of closure in their personal lives.

Foer manages to wrap up parts of the story while still leaving the reader wanting more. The reader finds themselves attached to the character of Oskar. Even when his character seems to be unbelievable he is never unlikable. The reader is constantly hoping for Oskar’s life to miraculously turn around. Wishing for everything in Oskar’s life to be okay and for him to be able to connect with his mother. All in all the book is a good read and looks at subjects that most people would not like to think about. Just because we don’t want to think about disaster and grief does not mean that it is not there. Sometimes facing our problems and pain is the best answer.

Death is easy, for those who are dead; it is continuous excruciating pain for those who are alive. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, a novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, takes you into the tragic incident of September 11 from the perspective of a vibrant and creative nine-year-old. Foer grabs hold and pulls you into the powerful and exuberant journey of a young boy trying to find closure to the unexpected death of his father. Oskar Schell, like thousands of others, was unfortunately affected by the tragedy of the Twin Towers’ collapse.

One-of-a-kind, Oskar Schell has heavy boots (many sad feelings that weigh him down), wears only white and plays a tambourine. He is imaginative with his inventions that help make life easier and safer. He creates jewelry, collects stamps and rocks, and corresponds with the famous Stephan Hawking, Jane Goodall and many more of his inspirations. Dearly loved by his mother and grandmother, Oskar’s pain is deep and extremely heart wrenching. His young mind maintains exasperated emotions of a confused little boy.

Oskar’s mother has made a new friend, Ron, and Oskar disapproves because he doesn’t want his mother to fall in love again. He doesn’t want her to forget Thomas, his father, but especially not replace him. Ron tries to gain approval from Oskar by asking to buy him instruments but he declines.

Money can’t buy me love, obviously, but I asked if it would have been Zildjian cymbals. He said, “Whatever you want,” and then he took my yo-yo off my desk and started to walk the dog with it. I know he just wanted to be friendly, but it made me incredibly angry. “Yo-yo, moi!” I told him, grabbing it back. What I really wanted to tell him was, “You’re not my dad, and never will be.”

He shuts himself in his father’s closet to escape life and to be closer to his dad. When Oskar does this, “it made my boots lighter to be around his things, and to touch stuff that he touched.” When in his closet he finds a vase that has an envelope that has Black written on the outside in blue ink and an unmarked key on the inside. Oskar believes that like the quests his father has sent on before this is one in the same. After much deliberation to the meaning of the word Black he decides that it is somebody’s last name. He uses the phone book for the list of Black’s in the New York City area, starts with the A’s and walks to their houses to question them about the key. He meets many Blacks all in the New York City area and they all have interesting stories and lives.

Foer does a fantastic job connecting all of New York City’s pain to that of Oskar’s. Foer makes the connection in many ways but the most attention grabbing was the bedtime story that his father told him about the sixth borough. The sixth borough slowly drifted away from New York City. But before it drifted too far, the citizens dragged beloved parts of the borough onto the mainland. Soon the citizens of the five boroughs and the citizens of the sixth borough lost their connections forever. Oskar was like the people of New York City; he lost someone that was a huge part of who he was. Also like the citizens of the five boroughs, Oskar tried to hang onto what reminded him of his father. He travels all over the five borough of New York City to find the lock that will be opened by the key that his father left for him. He also kept the answering machine that had his father’s dying words safe and concealed and only revealed it to his grandmother’s renter, his unknown grandfather.

Although Oskar is the main focus of the novel, Foer diverts the narrative to the letters of his grandfather to his unborn child, Thomas Shell, and also the stories from his grandmother. Even though his grandparents’ stories are interesting and tearjerkers they still seem completely frivolous and don’t contribute to the plot of the story.

Although irrelevant with Oskar’s journey Foer connects the tragedy of September 11 with the bombings in Dresden; it enhances the mournful mood with more grief and loss. The reader hopes that the young boy will be capable of finding “the good” that can come from the death of his father. His grandmother and grandfather seemed to have never healed from their losses in the bombings. Oskar being so young and innocent was tainted by the pain and loss of his father. The psychological problems that the characters retained through their life experiences helped retain the readers’ interest level.

The separate chapters by grandpa and the photos and drawings take away from the serious wounds of the characters. The single sentences on the black pages were effective in the beginning to demonstrate the way grandpa was communicating but later became excessive. This was a brilliantly written book with great imagination. It may have been unbearable for some people to read, mostly because it touched too close to home too early to the day of the attacks. Oskar started out with emptiness and loneliness with the loss of his father in the attacks, but by the end of the book he realized that he was not. His mom did care about him and she allowed him to find his way around by himself because she probably believed that it would be better that way. Oskar’s story was very unique and one to hold on to we should not forget about him and his story, just like the people of New Your City should not forget about the sixth borough.

BreAnne Baird

Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a perspective exhibit in grief.

Donna Holland

10-2-09

Book Review

Reading Foer’s work is analogous to walking through an art gallery surveying a retrospective work of his characters lives; each of the main characters is in the middle of some stage of the grieving process. We are guided by Foer, like a gondolier, securely wrapped in his hand-crafted vessel of words and images to ride the ebb and flow of the waves of emotions he conjures within each character, and within each one of us. As we stop to evaluate each work of art we are often struck by an immediate slap to senses. At each piece along the exhibit we a confronted with a new challenge to our collectively agreed upon morals, values and judgments. We stop to look at the image of a young boy who stirs a protective instinct within us. We view the image of a woman who brings about a sad smile to our faces. We are stricken by the image of a broken old man who causes looks of confusion and maybe even anger to fleet across our brow. We pick up our pace wanting to find answers to these emotions. We speed along viewing the various stages in the lives of these individuals alternately embracing and shunning these characters as we move through the story. We reach the end of the exhibit and suddenly we realize that Foer has surreptitiously been guiding us through a reflective exhibit designed to bring us to a point of clarity regarding love.

The reader begins the novel with the understanding that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is going to be exploring the topic of grieving through the character of 9 yr. old Oskar Schell who lost his father due to the terrorist acts of September 11^th. It is a difficult task for adults to delve into the grieving process of a 9 year old, but Foer ushers the reader into a position of comprehension of, and empathy for, Oskar. We, the reader, internalize every emotion Oskar emotes, and through Foer’s subtle artistry the reader is also guided on a path to self-awareness. Foer’s choice to have Oskar play the character of Yorick in a production of Hamlet is layered with meaning. Essentially, Yorick is nothing but a mere skull, a dead friend whom Hamlet once knew. Oskar is mourning the loss of his best friend, his father. Oskar is being confronted with his first experience with death. It is his first experience with real loss. It is his first experience with the death of love, pure love. It is a graphic image of the slow painful emotional death of Oskar Schell. It is a mirror to the reader of their own losses, their own duels with death. Yorick signifies the inevitable, that everyone knows about and no one wants to acknowledge. In both Hamlet and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Yorick requires both the characters and the audience to confront the fact that death is inevitable.

A second way we look at grief is through the character of the grandmother. She has always loved, but she has never had the opportunity to experience that true, deep, soul-altering love that only comes from a relationship where there is a real meeting of the souls. She experiences parental love, and grandparental love, but she is never allowed the opportunity to know what it is like to share her life, the deepest inner-most part of her life with anyone. She grieves this loss throughout the entirety of her life. We look at her, and we love her as a character, but it is difficult to understand some of the choices she makes when trying to communicate her grieving process to her grandson Oskar. Grandmother has lost everyone she has ever loved, with the exception on Oskar, and she is fully invested in writing a letter to him that allows him to understand how important finding that soul-changing love is. She makes some choices that at first may seem awkward and even wrong when discussing her sexual life with grandpa. Although, it is impossible to get to the depth of complete understanding concerning the complexities of the bond that comes from that one physical and emotional connection. She needs Oskar to understand when he grows up that sex is sex, but love in its purest and most vulnerable form is most profound with your soul mate when in the act of making love. She doesn’t want Oskar to spend his life grieving, and she is willing to go to any extreme to make that clearly understood to him. In the end Grandma brings us the most complete understanding of love in all of its forms.

A third way we look at grief is through the character of the Grandfather. His representation of grief to us is the rawest; the most destroyed by the ravages loss can take upon one’s soul. We see the steps of the grieving process the most clearly through the character of the Grandfather; not because he is able to complete the entire process, but because he becomes stuck in one spot and never leaves. After the loss of his first, and only true love Anna, he walks into the grieving process and finds nothing but quicksand. As he tries to move forward he is slowly sucked under the weight of the grief he feels until he loses his ability to speak. He doesn’t want to be there, but he doesn’t know any other way out. He goes so long within that quicksand quagmire that no one, not even himself, can recognize how lost he is in the maze of his emotions. Grandfather’s inability to cope in turn causes much more grief upon those he loves, which he has no idea how to deal with either. His inability to move forward from that one point in grief frustrates the reader, it angers us and makes us sad all at the same time. In the end the Grandfather is a very necessary character. We are able to see inside the desires and motivations of someone who can’t move forward no matter how hard he tries. We are also able to see what a devastating effect that can have on all of those around him, and he teaches us the moral to continue to push through that pain. He is a great example for every reader what will happen to them and their loved ones if they allow themselves to sink within.

Foer’s gallery of life, love, learning, and grieving is a complete picture of reality. He doesn’t tie up the end in a nice little bow, so that the reader can finish the novel knowing everyone was okay, and forget all about it. Foer continues to stick to a realistic journey through the difficulties of life. No one ever has it all figured out, and Foer doesn’t try to play God, he leaves you with clear pictures and moral lessons for life, but in the end no one knows everything about life it still continues on even when you cease to be. It is the legacy that is left behind for those you loved and are in relationship with, to continue on loving, learning and growing. There is not a single person who could not benefit from this book if they are willing to be vulnerable and open-minded. There is a lifetime full of lessons contained within Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Book Review for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Lindsey Smith

Lindsey Smith

Book Review

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a novel about a young boy named Oskar Schell who, upon finding a puzzling key, sets out on a quest to find the lock that it opens.  Thomas Schell, Oskar’s father, died in the tragic events of 9/11, leaving his son, his wife, and his mother each to cope with the loss in their own way.  Oskar’s mother finds a new “friend” named Ron, his grandmother takes in a mysterious renter and clings to Oskar more than ever, and Oskar wanders the streets of New York City in search of the lock, hoping for anything that will bring him closer to his father.  The history of Oskar’s grandparents provides a rich sub-story within the novel, with the details given mostly in epistolary form as Oskar’s estranged grandfather writes letters to the son he has never met.  As the story unfolds, many other characters emerge for us to love, pity, question, and even hate.

The book’s author, Jonathan Safran Foer, has been both celebrated and chastised for his innovative style and unorthodox techniques.  You will find that this novel is quite unlike its text-only counterparts.  Foer’s book is scattered with photographs, blank pages, a flipbook, editorial red pen, and text that runs together so that it becomes unreadable.  Some think his tactics are childish, others find them compelling; I think Foer is a literary revolutionary, rebelling against the antiquated standard of regularly spaced black and white print.

            His rebellious additions include the test pages from a craft store where people have tried out several colored pens.  Though we are told about them in the narrative, the visual is more interesting and supports the clerk’s assertion that people tend to write the name of the color of the pen they are using.  Most of Foer’s unusual pages serve to accentuate ideas or pieces of the story in this way.  Are some of the pages extremely weird and incredibly frustrating?  Absolutely.  There are three-and-a-half pages of single-digit numbers pushed on a pay phone to “spell” words that cannot be spoken, and three-and-a-half pages of text being squished closer and closer together until it’s on top of itself, becoming an unintelligible black mass of nothing – these pages are the most vexing.  But would the novel be nearly as effective without all of Foer’s eccentric inclusions?  As Oskar would say, “Jose!”  (That means “No way!” for those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Oskar.)

            This novel is brilliantly constructed.  Foer continually provides the element of shock and surprise, filling the novel with “Oh!” moments and keeping us guessing as to how everything will resolve.  Every time I formed an opinion about a character, another veil was lifted and I was forced to rethink my previous judgment.  The novel jumps time and voice with almost every chapter, but it keeps the story fresh, never stagnant, always moving along.  Combined with the vivid images and unexpected breaks provided by blank pages or strange text, my mind was constantly engaged as I read the novel.  I think that the fast pace of things today give us all a sort of attention-deficit problem and if something moves too slowly or gets boring, we lose interest quickly.  If literature wants to keep up with the rest of the world, I think that’s okay.

            I really enjoyed the story and the book itself.  I think it would be a great read for almost anyone.  There are so many terrific elements all incorporated into this one novel that I’m sure readers of all kinds will be able to find something that they like about it.  I am amazed at the brilliance of Foer.  Though he’s so young, he has an amazing gift and I am looking forward to reading more novels from this literary revolutionary.

Review of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jeremiah Croskrey

Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” is not your every day read. Telling the story of a young boy’s journey to discover more about his recently deceased father, this book is part of the evolution of the novel as we know it. With the use of different voices, time periods, page layout, and images, this book defies the very idea of a classic novel. The story revolves around the main character, a very intelligent nine year old boy named Oskar, whose father recently died in the tragic attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. I know what some of you may be thinking right now, “Who would write a book about 9/11. It’s too soon!” Well don’t have a hissy-fit; this book isn’t about the events of that day. They are only referenced because they are an important day for Oskar, as well as all of us. The book is really about a boy’s journey to discover the purpose of a key that his father left to him. In Oskar’s journey, he comes across many people in New York City who come to shape his character throughout. In the end Oskar learns about his father, his family, and himself. Other mysteries ensue as Oskar’s grandparent’s characters are developed through letters and a brief history of the tragic events of Dresden in 1945.

The real excitement from this book does not come from just its characters. The story is told through many voices and many narrators, each with its own style and tone. Oskar’s story is very comedic and really makes you love his character. His journey brings you up and down as he learns truths and uncovers more questions about the meaning of being alive. His grandmother tells her story through letters she sent to Oskar. Though very inappropriate sometimes, she is a very honest and leave no details of her story out. Oskar’s grandfather also tells his story through letters to his son, Oskar’s father. His own story sometimes conflicts with Grandma’s leading us to wonder who the more reliable narrator is. He too writes in a much more serious tone than when Oskar tells his story. Foer keeps these two characters mysterious by revealing their story in reverse.

Foer also challenges the idea of the novel by using images throughout his novel. The images represent pictures taken by Oskar, such as the hands of his grandpa, and the very thoughts Oskar has in his head. These images bring the novel out of the pages and into a more visual field. We get to see what Oskar sees, instead of having to imagine them. The novel ends with a flip book of a man who had jumped out of one of the World Trade Center buildings, only instead of seeing him fall, the images are reversed, seeing him rising up into the air, and as Oskar says “If I’d had more pictures, he would’ve flown through the window, back into the building and the smoke would’ve poured into the hole that the plane was about to come out of.”

Many critics dislike this book for the very reasons I enjoy it. It is more than just a novel. It is more of an experience in reading. The use of multiple voices and images bring the novel from a simple story into a complex series of highs and lows. The visuals bring the story out of the page and give us more to “hold” as they would say. I recommend this novel to adults who can handle an evolution in writing. Many think pictures and strange formatting as an amateur way to add substance to the novel. This book didn’t need the pictures to add shock value; the pictures bring the book out of the page and into a world we can really see.

Foer Review by Jaclyn Brown

This review written and submitted by Jaclyn E. Brown

Review of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, a novel written by Jonathan Safran Foer

Jonathan Safran Foer’s 2005 novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is one of those things you either like or hate; either way it’s an experience. After reading the first pages of run-on senten.ces, interesting ideas and crazy inventions from the perspective of a nine year old, you’re either going to eagerly read more or need a nap. Foer is a new breed of writer and that of an acquired taste. His characters, diverse storyline, and organization of this book make and break a unique journey each reader experiences. Foer is both provocatively original and insensitively bold; I’d recommend his writing to anyone.

Nine year old Oskar Schell is Foer’s leading character/narrator. Oskar is a little bit of everything who knows a little bit about everything – or so he thinks. He's an avid Beatles fan, plays the tambourine, only wears white, speaks French, is a pacifist and has a wild imagination. He also happens to be a former atheist, a jeweler and most importantly a son. He frequently uses quirky sayings such as “José?”(no way) and “heavy boots”(being unhappy); I found these to be endearing although you may not. Oskar’s comfortable yet awkward manner is a good representation of the 8 to 12 year old age group. He seems to be inappropriate and kind of annoying yet charming in most cases. -- He is a literary character of whom I think we might all be able to relate our childhood self to in some tiny way.

The book’s main story revolves around Oskar’s search for answers about a key that was owned by his father, who was killed in 9/11. The key, found in an envelope labeled “Black”, triggers Oskar to alphabetically investigate every person in New York City with the last name Black. This search consumes Oskar and ultimately helps him to overcome the loss of his father.

The chronicle of this liberating journey is mixed with an oddly placed back story of Oskar’s German immigrant grandparents. Again, as a reader you either find great interest in this story of needed and lost companionship or you want to skip it all together. Products of the WWII Dresden bombings, Oskar’s grandparents also have a unique story that Foer tells through the use of completely blank pages, pages with single sentences and indecipherable morphed together words. This unusual form of artistic writing inserts the reader into the story, developing a better understanding of the grandparent’s relationship. At times I appreciated it; other times I was very annoyed.

There are many different adventures and relationships happening throughout the novel. Although the grandparent’s story is enlightening, I wish we could know less about it and more about Oskar’s interactions with all of the Blacks. Foer’s lack of expansion on most of Oskar’s encounters with these interesting people is disappointing to say the very least. The people really seem to have an appreciation for Oskar despite his peculiarity. At one visit Oskar asks a forty-eight year old woman “Can we kiss for a little bit?”, at another he meets a man over 100 years old who hasn’t left his apartment in the last 25 years and at another meets a woman who lives atop the empire state building. -All of which are quite intriguing and inspire the reader to want and need to know more. However, this need is not met; instead we are constantly interrupted with the confusing, sad grandparents. Some might value the grandparent’s story; for the most part, it was not for me.

One could say that parts of this novel are hit and miss. I would agree, but insist that most parts are a direct hit. Foer’s unique and overconfident writing style is different yet effective. He exemplifies his talent in great perspectives; for instance Oskar’s father’s solution to how “relatively insignificant we are [in the universe…]”. Oskar’s father explains that if Oskar were to move a single grain of sand in the Sahara desert he would change “…the course of human history!” Foer’s talent is also illustrated in many of Oskar’s thoughts for instance “What if everyone swallowed them [tiny microphones], and they played the sounds of our hearts through tiny speakers, which could be in the pouches of our overalls.” Finishing the paragraph with “…And at the finish line at the New York City Marathon it would sound like war.” What imagination!

We give credit to the character Oskar, without realizing that he is Foer’s genius written creation. Foer’s fluent, ingenious narration of Oskar throughout the book depicts a remarkably intelligent, mature, somewhat peculiar boy fighting the overwhelming reality of grief, disappointment, and every-day life. It is this character and Foer’s distinctive and artistic writing style that give this book its undeniable appeal. The story of Oskar Schell teaches us about closure, forgiveness and undeniable love while challenging us to question how we face our own problems. It is leisure reading that is enjoyable and thought provoking. As I finish Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close I expect great things from Foer, knowing this is only one of his first attempts at a great career.

Review of Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a unique and cleverly written novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. The main character of this novel is Oskar, a nine year old whose father died a year previously in the World Trade Center during the terrorist attack of 9.11. Since his death, Oskar has been having difficulty finding closure, feeling that he is the only one suffering. However, Oskar comes across a key in his father’s closet and quickly becomes obsessed in discovering the lock it belongs to, hoping it will help him find some kind of comfort.

As the reader goes on this journey with Oskar in search of the mysterious lock, they will discover various characters and tales that are either filled with sadness or hope, and sometimes both. Thus Foer’s novel is not the typical ‘happily ever after’ tale, but faces the reality that many try to avoid. Nevertheless, it is a very touching story that may appeal to a wide range of audience; but its form, presentation, and content may not necessarily be to everyone’s taste.

As one progresses through Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the reader will discover that the form of writing will change periodically. Foer has cleverly done this to illustrate the voice and personality of the various characters who are telling their story within the novel. Ordinarily, an author will choose one style of writing throughout their novel for consistency, but Foer goes against all norms of writing and in result he presents a captivating way to exemplify his characters.

There are three essential people who are telling their story—Oksar, Grandma, and Grandpa. As the chapters switch from character to character, Foer’s writing style will also change to fit the personality of his characters. For instance, Oskar’s chapters are narrations that contain run-on sentences. Foer does this to illustrate that this young intelligent boy has a lot on his mind, and thus feels that he must let it all out at once before it escapes. In contrast, the grandmother’s chapters are letters to Oskar in which she uses simple, basic sentences as if she is carefully selecting her words before writing.

The most peculiar and unique writing is the grandfather’s, whose chapters are also letters but to his son. His writing is in a block format, not containing any paragraphs. This gives the impression that he, like Oskar, is trying to share and express everything in his mind. However, there are some areas in which he will write a small, simple sentence on a blank page. Years previously the grandfather decided to stop talking because of the immense sorrow he was suffering from, and therefore these almost blank pages are when the grandfather is communicating with others. Thus Foer uses the block pages to illustrate that the Grandfather has a lot on his mind, but is unwilling or scared to share his pain and thoughts with others (as is demonstrated with the almost blank pages).

Besides the uniqueness of how he illustrates the characters’ personalities through the various writing styles, Foer also presents an assortment of images throughout the novel—some very disturbing. These images are pictures that Oskar has either taken or found for his scrap-book called Stuff That Happened to Me. These images are beneficial to the novel in helping the readers to see with more clarity what Oskar sees, and helping them to feel and comprehend Oskar’s emotions.

Some writers or critics do not appreciate Foer’s usage of images and writing style because they feel it is all too distracting. They believe that this novel would make some people very frustrated, especially those who prefer the traditional ways of writing in which there is a set form and order throughout the book. Mark Oppenheimer, a critic for the Jewish Journal, stated that “Foer's writing is nearly as magical as his admirers say. But magic is dangerous when not properly controlled.” However, Foer’s unique writing style and presentation is what makes this novel so stimulating. While reading this story, you never know what to expect on the next page.

This novel is open to a variety of readers, but the content is written for a mature audience, even though the main character is just a nine year old boy. A few stories within contain some explicit sexual content, making it impossible to recommend to a younger audience. The novel also contains graphic word imagery of the Dresden bombing and a disturbing image of a man falling from the World Trade Center during the 9.11 terrorist attack. These images and content may be too disturbing for some individuals.

The novel, however, focuses not upon these disturbing things, but upon finding closure, and forgiveness. This novel takes the reader on a wonderful journey with the characters who are trying to find answers to their suffering. Foer’s writing style and pictures work perfectly in pulling this story together. While reading, one should not waste their time in trying to pull apart the writing and presentation of the novel, but should instead enjoy Foer’s touching tale about hope, forgiveness, and the importance of saying “I love you.”